


I Can Feel You Laughing, Under My Skin

by jocelyncade



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Drabble Collection, First Meetings, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-15
Updated: 2018-03-15
Packaged: 2019-03-31 17:30:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13980018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jocelyncade/pseuds/jocelyncade
Summary: A collection of prompts.Title from Under My Skin - Jukebox the Ghost





	I Can Feel You Laughing, Under My Skin

**Author's Note:**

> Im posting this from the waiting room of an ultrasound and xray office how are y'all doin?
> 
> prompt:  
> “The Mailman constantly mixes up your home address with mine and I keep getting your mail. I’m sorry I keep looking through your packages but your life seem’s super interesting and I don’t think I would have talked to you otherwise, so do you want to get a cup of coffee and talk about these books on black magic you bought?"

_ It happened again. _

Lup bent down on the stoop of their quiet house, picking up their assortment of mail from the ground. 

 

They had the usual stuff - bills, coupons, etc. And smack dab in the middle of their mail was a box addressed to Mr. B.J. Bluejeans, 96 Wave Echo Road. 

  
When they got their full ride in the Institute, Taako had made the decision of where they lived. Thought it would be hilarious if they moved into house number 69. 

 

Getting this random dude’s mail on occasion wouldn’t be such a big deal, if it didn’t seem to happen every other fucking day. 

 

Carefully balancing the mail, package, and her mug of coffee in her hands, the closed the door behind her by hooking her foot around the handle and pulling it forward with a satisfying Click! as it slammed into place. 

 

“Don’t slam the goddamn door Lup.” Taako yelled from behind his closed door. 

She scoffed.    
_ It’s fuckin’ noon bro. Get the fuck out of bed.  _   
  


Tossing the mail onto the table, she leaned her elbows onto the laminate countertop, contemplating the Fantasy Amazon package with a long sip of her coffee. 

 

“Fuck it.” She muttered. Lup had lost count of how many packages she’d tossed on the correct doorstep in the past couple months since they had moved in. Grabbing the scissors from their holder, she cut the tape and opened the box; careful not to tear the cardboard so she could close it back up after she was done snooping.    
  
And inside there were…

 

Books.    
  
“Well that’s a let-down.” Lup said to herself, shoulders slumping with disappointment. Couldn’t be something cool, eh? Had to be a boring old…

 

A word on the back cover caught her eye.    
  
_ Entrails..? What the fuck? _

 

She turned the book over. “Advanced Necromancy and You!” 

 

“Why are you just standin’ there Lulu?” Lup jumped, the voice suddenly behind her spooking her.    
  
Taako laughed. “What, did I scare ya? How did you not hear me walk in?”    
He leaned up against the counter next to her, snatching the book from her grasp before she could react.    
  
“Necromancy? What got you into that shit, Lu?” He thumbed through the pages absentmindedly before she yanked it back.   
  


“It’s not  _ mine _ dingus, don’t crease the pages.” She exclaimed, opening it to a random page and scanning the page, curiosity getting the better of her.    
  
Taako reached over and lifted the flap of the box to read the label.   
“Hey. Lulu.” He smirked. 

 

She ignored him, turning the page.   
  
“Luuuuluuuuuu.” He sang, hopping up to sit on the countertop and poke at her shoulder.    
  


“Mail fraud is a criiiime Lup.” He continued, reaching into the box and examining the other book.    
  
“This guy’s a real weirdo, huh? Necromancy  _ and _ Black Magic?” He held up the copy of “A Practitioner’s Guide to Black Magicks”.    
  
“It’s actually kinda interesting.” Lup muttered, slowly getting engrossed in the read.

 

“Colpriziana, offina alta nestra, fuaro menut, I name [Blank] the dead which I seek. [Blank], thou art the dead that I seek. Spirit of [Blank], deceased-”

  
Taako tore the book from her hands.    
“Don’t read it out loud, dingus! I don’t want to get fuckin’ haunted or some shit! Hachi machi, man…”

 

“I didn’t name any ghosts, dumbass. Just reading it won’t do anything.”

He gave her a pointed look. 

“I think…”   
  


Taako closed the book and placed it on the counter, sighing   
“Seal up the box and bring it back to the weirdo. I don’t want that dark magic shit in the house, kay?”

 

Lup rolled her eyes and put the necromancy book back into the box while Taako hopped off the counter and grabbed stuff for his breakfast. 

 

She picked up the one on black magic, looking over her shoulder to make sure Taako’s back was turned before opening that one too, this time to the table of contents.    
Spells on Love, Revenge, Breaking Spells, the Evil Eye?   
  
The more she read, the more she wanted to read… Where did Bluejeans find this shit?   
  
“Come on Lu, give it back to the guy! If you give us ghosts, you’re giving me my half of the security deposit, I  _ swear _ .”

 

“Fine! Fine.” She closed the book and taped the box back up. “I’ll give it back after we eat. Whatcha making?”   
  
“Nothing for you, make your own damn ghost food.” Taako said, not looking up from the pan he pushed eggs around in, but cracked an extra couple in for her anyway.    
  


\---

 

“Hey so, I opened your mail and- No that’s fuckin dumb... “ Lup muttered to herself on the walk to house number 96.   
  
“Hi. I opened your mail please don’t have me arrested. That’s stupid too.”

 

She had never actually  _ met _ B.J. Bluejeans, despite bringing his mail over a bajillion times. Lup wondered what kind of person he was as she stood on the stoop to his house. 

 

Lup had never really  _ looked _ at this person’s house before. It was pretty fucking normal, all things considered. A little garden with tulips and other low-maintenance plants in it. Thick curtains on the windows. A little porch swing. 

 

Maybe they had a roommate or something that was painfully normal, and they were this eclectic witch-person. 

 

The lock switching open broke Lup’s concentration on what the house looked like, and she had a moment of panic where she instinctively looked for a good place to hide, before realizing just how fucking ridiculous that was.    
  
She plastered what she hoped was a friendly, not-insane smile, onto her face and she held the hastily repackaged box close in front of her body.    
  
Who walked out of the house was someone she only half-expected to see. A dude. 

Prematurely receding hairline, dressed business casual - if you ignored the jeans, big glasses, swiping up on his phone as he stepped out of the door and reached behind him to close and lock the door. He didn’t seem to notice Lup standing there at all.    
  
She cleared her throat and he jumped, pulling both hands close to his chest as he dropped both his keys and phone, the clatter of each hitting the ground making him wince. 

 

“Oh fuck-!” She exclaimed, bending down, pretty much just tossing the box aside trying to catch the phone before it shattered. Too late, she picked it off the cement and breathed a sigh of relief as she saw that it was free of anything more than a little superficial scratch where it landed. 

 

“Sorry about that, dude, I thought you saw me.” She said, grabbing his keys from where they landed as well and standing upright to hand him back his stuff. She smiled, tilting her head in a way she hoped was friendly and apologetically as she held his stuff out to him. 

 

He just stared at her for a moment - she really hoped he didn’t think she looked strange - before he stammered out a quiet “Uh, thanks.” and pocketed his belongings after actually locking the door. 

 

Lup stood and twiddled her thumbs while she waited for him to turn back around and face her, and when he finally did he seemed confused.    
“Did you need something, miss?” He looked behind her, as if to check the driveway. 

 

“Oh, shit right!” She said, scrambling for the box she tossed aside. “This!” She said, picking it up triumphantly. 

 

“I’m looking for B. J. Bluejeans.” 

 

“That’s me.” He replied, cautiously. Lup was a little bit disappointed, but also intrigued. He seemed so… Normal. 

  
She instead held the box up. “We got your mail at my house again.” 

 

“Again?” 

 

“Oh, yeah, we’ve been getting your mail off and on since we moved in a couple months ago and uh…” She offered the box to the guy, took is hesitantly and examined it.    
  
“What’s up with the tape?” 

 

“I may or may not have opened it. Out of curiosity. And maybe just a pinch of spite.” 

That last part earned her a  _ look _ . “Listen man, I’ve lost count of how many letters and packages I’ve tossed on your doorstep. I’ve lived here for 3 months. It’s not my fault the mailman can’t tell the difference between 96 and 69.” 

 

He chuckled. 

“Alright I get it. Did you want me to add delivery instructions or something, so it doesn’t happen again?”    
  


“I mean sure? It’d save me the trip. But I actually wanted to ask about the stuff inside the box?”

 

He paled at that. “What was in that box anyway..?”   
  


“Uh,  _ A Practitioner's Guide to Black Magicks  _ and  _ Advanced Necromancy and You! _ .” 

 

“Ah. I’ll put these inside then.” He muttered, re-opening his door again.

“Sorry, it must seem weird. I really don’t know why what I was thinking when I ordered these…” He hummed and hawed, trying to explain his occult leanings away. 

 

“Oh. Okay. I was hoping you could tell me more about them, but if you're new to it too…”

 

“Wait you’re interested in necromancy?” He perked up. 

 

“I flipped through them they seemed cool I just wanted to know more about it.” 

 

“Well shit, I uh… Fuck I have to get going. Can I see your phone really quick?”

 

She unlocked it and handed it to him. 

“Here’s my number…” He said, punching in a new contact. “Text me if you ever want to chat about it.” He handed back her phone and double checked the door, before checking his watch, the panic coloring his already anxious face

“I really have to run, though. Sorry!” 

 

Waving awkwardly, he hopped into his car and drove off, leaving Lup on the porch, phone in hand and slightly dazed at one of the strangest interactions she’d had in a while. 

 

She opened her phone again and looked at her new acquaintance’s contact. 

 

Barry. 

 

She smiled, and headed back home. Wondering just what kind of person he might be


End file.
